


The Birthday Party

by VictoriaSinclair



Category: Castle
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-06
Updated: 2012-05-06
Packaged: 2017-11-04 23:33:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/399418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriaSinclair/pseuds/VictoriaSinclair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beckett needs a date to show off at an old friend's party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a birthday gift for my godmother, but I figured I might as well share in case others were interested! I didn't have an exact place in the timeline in mind, but let's say it takes place during season three.

Kate didn’t get up the nerve to talk to Castle until they were getting ready to leave the precinct Thursday evening. She told herself it was because she didn’t want to make a big deal out of the thing, but she knew she was actually half-hoping that the longer she waited, the less likely he’d be to say yes, and then she’d be saved from this whole crazy idea.

“So . . . what are you doing this weekend?” She tried to make the question sound casual.

Castle shrugged. “Not much. I have a backlog of books people sent, looking for blurbs, so I guess I’ll try to make some headway on those.”

“Ah.” This was her last chance to back out. She should just drop it. She should.

“Why?”

Of course he could tell that it hadn’t just been an idle question, damn him. “I – uh – I have a huge favor to ask.”

Castle turned and looked at her, suddenly serious. “Of course. Anything.”

“I have to – I have to go to this party in the Hamptons Saturday night.” Now that she’d started, the words all came out in a rush as she desperately tried to make him _understand_ before he jumped to any false conclusions. “It’s a thirtieth birthday party for my mom’s friend’s daughter Susie, and my dad really wants me to go, but it’s this huge formal thing. And I like Susie, really, we grew up together, but she’s married to some Wall Street guy now, and her friends are awful, and whenever I go to these things, I just – I just get so sick of the _pity_ , Castle.”

“Pity? About – about your mother?”

“No, no.” Kate closed her eyes for a moment. Couldn’t let herself get distracted, not now. “I’m used to dealing with all that when we see family friends. This is – it’s petty, but – by now these girls all have rich husbands and big houses and perfect kids, and – ”

“Ah.” Castle arched an eyebrow and made a show of looking at his watch. “Well, it’s awfully last minute, and City Hall is closed by now, but if I call the mayor he can probably rush a marriage license through tomorrow.”

Kate gulped, trying to ignore the way her stomach was plummeting. “The – what? Castle, what on earth are you talking about?”

He gave her an innocent smile. “Did you or did you not just request a rich husband, big house, and perfect kid by Saturday?”

“That’s not what – be _serious_ , Castle.”

He shrugged, as if to point out she really had _no idea_ whether he was being serious or not. “Sorry. What were you actually asking, then?”

“I just – I thought maybe, if you weren’t busy – I thought maybe you would go as my date.”

“Detective Beckett, did you just ask me out on a date?”

“I asked you to attend an event as my date. That’s not exactly the same thing.” It wasn’t, right? _Right?_

“Well, I suppose I’ll take what I can get. Black tie?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I know it’s last minute . . .”

“It’s not like I don’t have a tux. Just wanted to make sure I was dressing the part correctly.”

“Thanks, Castle. This might – this might actually be fun. They’re not all awful, I promise. There’s also a brunch on Sunday for family and close family friends, but I’ll tell Susie we have to get back to the city.”

“Or I can just call the cleaning service and get my house opened up for the weekend,” Castle suggested. “It might be nice not to have to worry about driving back to the city late at night anyway.”

“Oh, you don’t have to . . .”

“It’s no trouble. I promise. Would your dad want to stay as well? There are plenty of bedrooms.”

“Thanks, but he’s staying with Susie’s parents. They invited me too, but . . .”

“But then we’d all have to deal with the question of whether you and your date are sharing a bedroom.”

Kate felt herself blushing. “Right.”

“Understood.”

“So, uh, what else do you need to know?” Kate asked, smoothing over the slightly awkward silence.

“Are we telling people I’m your boyfriend, or . . .?”

“I don’t want to lie, especially with my dad there. Can we try to keep it ambiguous?”

Castle coughed. “Uh, yeah. I think we can manage that. In fact, I bet I can leave everyone with the impression that we’re together without actually lying about anything at all. That sounds like a fun challenge!”

Kate smiled indulgently. “Whatever gets you through the evening, Castle.”

“You should get used to calling me Rick,” he pointed out. “People might think the last name thing was . . . odd. If I’m your date.”

“Oh. You’re probably right, _Rick_. I’ll pick you up – ”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m driving.”

“I’m perfectly capable of driving us to the Hamptons!” Kate protested.

“I know you are. That’s not the point.”

“The point?” She was lost.

“Kate, Kate, Kate. Do I have to teach you everything?” Rick smiled. “It’s the first rule of impressing shallow boors: _Always_ take the Ferrari.”


	2. Chapter 2

The first part of the car ride was a little awkward, as Kate fidgeted with her wrist corsage and tried not to stare at Castle – Rick – in his tux. Of _course_ he’d shown up with flowers, beautiful, tasteful, and perfectly matched to her dress. (She assumed he’d gone to Lanie for intel on that.) And of course he’d kissed her cheek, and told her she looked beautiful, and helped her into the car, and so she’d spent the first few minutes of the drive reminding herself that she was not, in fact, Cinderella on the way to the ball, and that she didn’t really buy that Cinderella and the prince would work out in the long run anyway.

But Rick had started talking about a case, and then they’d moved on to a problem Alexis was having with one of her friends, and a book they’d both read recently, and soon it all felt so _normal_ that that in itself was weird. Kate’s first line of defense against Rick’s flirtations and her own daydreams had always been the idea that if they tried to be a couple, they’d stop being _them_ , and there was no way she was willing to risk that, risk losing another person. But it couldn’t possibly be as easy as one car ride was making it seem, she reminded herself. They weren’t lying, no, but they were – playing parts. That made the evidence inadmissible.

And then Rick started telling boarding school stories, and they were pulling into Susie and Donno’s driveway before she knew it. (“ _Donno?_ ” Rick had asked. “Please tell me he got that nickname from his fraternity brothers. That would be perfect.” He had.) There was a valet – of course there was – so as Rick handed over his keys, Kate had a moment to shake the car-induced wrinkles out of her dress and psych herself up for their entrance. She’d managed to RSVP without mentioning her date’s name, and she had to admit she was a little curious to see how everyone reacted.

Before she had time to think too much, to back out of the whole thing, Rick was taking her arm and then they were inside, engulfed by a sea of effusive greetings and air kisses, with speculative whispers in their wake. Kate had briefly wondered if people would pretend not to recognize Rick, but apparently not. She tried not to look smug. She scanned the room for the two people she really cared about greeting – her dad and the birthday girl – and then grabbed Rick’s hand to lead him toward the edge of the dance floor, where Susie was holding court.

As they approached, she was suddenly hit with nerves. This whole plan had seemed almost reasonable when she’d suggested it, but would it actually work? She glanced up at Rick, wondering how he was holding up when actually faced with this crowd, but he just grinned and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“You’re the most beautiful woman in the room – and I’m by _far_ the most famous person here,” he added in an exaggeratedly arrogant tone that had its intended effect of making her smile in spite of herself. “ _There will be no pity._ ”


	3. Chapter 3

Once they’d paid their respects to the birthday girl, Rick pulled Kate onto the dance floor. Maybe a moment to themselves would help calm her nerves. Or something. The band was playing standards and people seemed to be doing their best approximations of ballroom dancing, so at least he was secure in his abilities there.

“Dance with me,” he said as the band finished one song and started “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Ha. It figured. “We can circulate more later.”

He was half-expecting an argument, but she just nodded and let him pull her into his arms. He tried not to make anything of the fact that she was holding him a little tighter than the dance strictly required.

“Huh. You actually know what you’re doing,” she said suddenly.

“What?”

“With the dancing.”

“Ah. Yes.” He chuckled. “Did you really think a kid could manage to grow up in Martha Rodgers’s household and not be forced into dancing lessons at some point?”

“Oh, of course.” She grinned. “I’ll have to remember to thank her later.”

Castle swallowed quickly, not sure exactly how to take that. “So, uh, I’m a little surprised you’re letting me lead,” he teased.

“Have to play the part,” Kate said.

“Right.”

“And – well. Letting someone else lead occasionally isn’t so bad as long as I have a partner I trust enough to follow.”

 _What?_ Castle would have given anything to see the expression on her face as she said that, to figure out whether she was still just talking about dancing, but she’d suddenly turned to rest her head on his shoulder. And while he certainly wasn’t about to complain about _that_ development, it meant he couldn’t see her face, and he was willing to bet she’d planned it that way. Oh well. He would wait. He was good at that.


	4. Chapter 4

Rick was a surprisingly good dancer, and Kate had to admit to herself that she would have been perfectly happy to stay there in his arms all evening. But those thoughts seemed like they’d lead in a dangerous direction, so she was half glad and half disappointed when she finally saw her father – and a reason to leave the dance floor.

“My dad’s here,” she whispered. “We should go say hi.”

Rick nodded agreeably and followed along as she crossed the room to where her father stood with Susie’s parents, Deb and Kurt Bingham.

“Katie!” Her dad folded her into a tight hug, and Kate reminded herself that she should really make an effort to see him more often. “I’m so glad you decided to come after all,” he whispered so Susie’s parents couldn’t hear, “though I see you brought back-up.”

Kate laughed and felt herself blushing a little – darn it! – as her father released her and turned to her companion.

“And Rick! Good to see you. Katie didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“Yes, she didn’t warn us that we’d have such an illustrious guest,” Deb Bingham gushed.

“Oh, I’m just the plus one tonight,” Rick said. It was amazing how he could sound self-effacing and wildly charming at the same time, darn him.

“But really, you _must_ tell me. What made you kill off Derrick Storm?”

“And that’s my cue to mingle,” Kate announced. She leaned in and brushed her lips across Rick’s cheek. “Good luck,” she whispered.

Kate watched Rick out of the corner of her eye as she rotated through the room, making small talk with old friends and acquaintances. And she had been right – amidst the obligatory cooing about engagement rings and babies, there was a certain satisfaction in seeing the slightly wistful looks on these women’s faces as they turned the conversation to her dashing arm candy. Yes, she found herself agreeing over and over, he was great. No, not as much of a playboy as his reputation suggested; obviously not. Yes, the press was a little intrusive at times, but he was worth it. No, even though she liked being his muse, she _absolutely_ would not let him base _those_ scenes on real life. Kate periodically reminded herself of her own “no lying” rule – and then realized that she wasn’t. And it wasn’t even hard. Everything she was saying was true, if not necessarily in the exact way people assumed – and _that_ realization would certainly eat at her later, she knew.

She finally caught back up with Rick just as one of her mom’s old friends was asking him how long they’d been together. “You’ve certainly kept it quiet,” the woman said, and Kate suddenly remembered that this was the friend her mother had always teased about being a little too invested in celebrity gossip.

Rick smiled slowly. “Yes, well, we try to be discreet, since we work together,” he dodged. Then he turned to Kate. “Ah, there you are.” He leaned in to squeeze her shoulder. “See?” he whispered. “No lying.”

Kate grinned and gave in, letting herself lean in against his shoulder. She felt him give a small start of surprise, and then his arm wrapped around her waist. Kate tried to remind herself that this was dangerous, that they were just play-acting, but it was getting harder and harder to make herself believe that.


	5. Chapter 5

Rick wasn’t exactly sure why Kate was letting him keep his arm around her, but he’d been hoping it would last all evening. It didn’t, of course, as she was called away by Susie for a tour of the renovations she and Donno – _Donno_ – had had done upstairs in the off-season.

Jim Beckett appeared next to Rick almost as soon as Kate had gone. Had he been waiting for chance?

“Let me show you Donno’s library, Rick,” he said. “He’s got some interesting editions.”

“Sure,” Rick said. He wasn’t necessarily as interested in any random old book as some people seemed to assume, but he’d rather stay on Jim Beckett’s good side. He followed the older man into the library and looked around. There didn’t _seem_ to be any display cases . . . “Where are the – ”

“There aren’t any,” Jim said bluntly. “I lied. I wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Oh.” Rick looked at him. “Is everything okay?”

“You tell me,” Jim said. “I don’t know what you two are playing at, but – well, you have a daughter. You must understand how I worry.”

“Yes. Yes, of course,” Rick said. “Let’s sit down.” He used the delay to gather his thoughts, trying to figure out where to start. “If it helps, I can assure you that my intentions are completely honorable.”

Jim sighed. “That’s sort of what I was afraid of.”

“Sir?”

“I know Katie hates feeling like these women are looking down on her for being single, so I was afraid she’d asked you along to deflect that.”

“Yes,” Rick confirmed.

“That’s too bad. I was hoping it was – more real.”

“Well. When I said my intentions were honorable, I wasn’t referring to this little date ruse.”

“Oh?” Jim looked confused.

“Sir, I’d marry your daughter tomorrow if she’d let me.”

Kate’s father looked like he was trying not to grin. “I see.”

“And, uh, well, you know I’m fine for money. Not that she can’t support herself. Or that I’d ever expect her to stop working. Unless she wanted to. For some reason. I mean, whatever she – ”

“Rick.” Jim cut him off. “I’m not worried about the money.”

“Okay. Uh. Of course.” Rick knew he was basically babbling, but he couldn’t help it. This was _not_ a conversation he’d expected to have tonight. “But while we’re on the subject, did you have any other – questions for me, or . . .”

Jim smiled. “Rick Castle, are you asking me for my blessing?”

“Well, sir, I’ve _met_ your daughter, so I certainly know better than to ask for your _permission_.”

“Good boy.” Jim looked at him for a moment. “I’ve worried about Katie a lot over the years, for obvious reasons.”

“Of course.”

“And honestly, I think you’re her best chance at happiness. Maybe her only chance at something lasting, something other than these perfectly nice, meaningless boyfriends she’s so careful not to care about. But I know she’s not exactly making things easy for you.”

“Ah, no,” Rick agreed. “But I can be patient when I have to be. I won’t rush her.”

Jim shook his head. “That’s not the problem. You’ve been not rushing her for over three years now. And she’s scared.”

“Scared? Of me?”

“Of losing you.”

“Did she – tell you this?” Rick asked.

“She didn’t have to. I’m her father. I know I’ve spent way too much time adding to her problems over the years, rather than helping her, but I do know my daughter pretty well.”

“Yes, of course you do,” Rick agreed. “So you’re saying . . .”

“I’m saying that at some point, you’re going to have to be the one to make the leap.”

“But will she follow?”

“I think so. I _hope_ so, for both your sakes.” Jim stood up. “And now we’d better rejoin the party before someone misses us.”


	6. Chapter 6

When Susie finally finished with her interminable tour and let them go back to the party, Kate made a beeline for Rick, who was standing next to her dad with a weird expression on his face. Well. She didn’t have time to worry about that, not now. She tried to tell herself that this was neither the time nor the place for the conversation she was about to start, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to sort this out _now_.

“Hey!” Rick said as she approached. “How was your tour?”

“Very informative.” She glared at him. “They – you – oh, sorry, hi, Dad.”

“Katie . . .” Her dad reached out to touch her arm, so apparently it was obvious that she was upset, and that was unfortunate.

She shrugged away and grabbed Rick’s arm instead. “Come with me.” She realized she was using her cop voice; he looked alarmed, but followed.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Not here.” She dragged him into an alcove at the corner of the room, where they’d be partially blocked by the drapes. It was the best option she saw at the moment.

Rick turned to face her. “Kate. What’s wrong?”

“We said _no lying_ , Rick.”

“I haven’t lied!”

He hadn’t? “But – they said – ”

“What? _Who?_ ”

“On the – the stupid _tour_ ,” she started. “The whole time we were oohing and aahing over Susie’s ridiculous bathroom and the new paint in the guest room, the girls were all going on about how you kept saying I was beautiful and wonderful and amazing and _raving_ about me . . .”

He shrugged, looking a little sheepish. “Well. That’s all true. I didn’t lie.”

“They – ” Her voice cracked, and the rest of the sentence was half-buried in a sob. “They said they could tell how much you _love_ me.”

Rick just stared at her for a long moment, then took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was low. “Yes. They probably could.”

“ _What?_ ” What was he _saying?_

“I don’t exactly hide it well. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t – I’m not asking for an _apology_ , Rick. I’m asking if it’s _true_.” Kate was horrified to hear the words as they left her mouth. She hadn’t intended to ask, not like that. What if it wasn’t? What if she’d ruined everything?

“Yes. Yes, of course it’s true.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t figure out what to say to that. “Really?”

He smiled. “Really. Is that bad?”

“No! No. It’s not bad.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I didn’t mean to spring that on you, not here, not like that. Apparently I was too convincing in my doting boyfriend role. But I didn’t mean to put any pressure on you, or – ”

“ _Rick._ Please don’t apologize. I just need a second to catch my breath.” Honestly, she doubted a second would be enough, but she was afraid to take much longer, afraid she’d mess this up – and then out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw someone approaching.

“Kate!” Deb called. “Can you come here, honey?  I want to introduce you to someone . . .”

Kate looked out at her, then back at Rick. “It’s fine,” he said. “Go. Take all the time you need.”

She nodded. “It’s not that. I mean, I don’t have to _think_ about it . .  .” And then Deb was calling again, more insistently this time, so Kate just squeezed Rick’s hand, then turned and walked back into the party.


	7. Chapter 7

Rick stood in a small clump of exceeding boring bankers, trying to feign some sort of interest in their intense discussion of investment options. Really, there was a reason why he hired someone to think about this stuff for him. But making himself think about investments was at least slightly less maddening than wondering what Kate was thinking. After Deb had dragged her off to meet someone-or-other, she’d kept getting caught up in conversations, throwing him apologetic looks from across the room as person after person kept her away. It was starting to feel nightmarish.

And then, finally, she appeared by his side and slipped an arm around his waist. “I need to steal Rick for a minute, boys,” she said to the group. “They’re playing our song.”

Rick hadn’t been paying attention to the music, but managed to identify it as he let Kate lead him to the dance floor.

“’For Once in My Life’?” he asked as they started to dance. “This is our song?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He listened to the lyrics as they danced, trying to be quiet, to give her time. _For once in my life, I won’t let sorrow hurt me, not like it’s hurt me before. For once I have something I know won’t desert me. I’m not alone anymore._ He smiled and pulled her in closer. “I like this song.”

“Good.” Kate stared into his eyes for a moment, and then, just as he was trying to figure out how to ask her what she was thinking without scaring her off – and then, _Kate Beckett was kissing him._ In the middle of a dance floor. In front of a hundred people she’d known her whole life. All too soon, she pulled back. “Rick?”

“Yeah?” he managed to get out.

“Is that enough of an answer until we have time to talk?”

He leaned in and kissed her again. “Yeah. That’ll do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I meant to write what happened when they went to Castle's house after the party, and then at brunch the next day, but ran out of time before the actual birthday party I had to attend. Anyone interested? If so, I'll write it soon!


End file.
